“Obviously we want Percy back,” Ponder said, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. “He’s a tremendous player and he’s a Viking. And those are tough shoes to fill and we don’t want to fill them. He’s a heck of a player and a heck of a part of this offense and this team in general. Of course we want him back.”

Ponder previously spoke in the past tense about Harvin, saying he “was” a good teammate, and he did it again in this interview, saying, “we had a good relationship.” So even though Ponder wants to keep playing with Harvin, he seems to be resigned to the idea that Harvin will be elsewhere in 2013.

“DAH”…………..as a Viking 4life since 1968 if you’ve seen Percy Harvin play just one time you don’t have to ask why the players don’t want to lose him and why every other team in the NFL is drooling at the possibility of aquiring him!

hanging on the words “was” in an interview is not very wise.
If he’s asked “what did you think of percy as a teammate” the answer would be he “was” a good teammate.
If he’s asked “what do you thin of Percy as a teammate, the answer would be “he is a good teammate”. Trying to trap a player into using his words to be contrued as something other than they are is not very wise. IMO.

Only Vikings know how much heart this kid plays with. Everyone else just hears all things that are put out in the media. Harvin, when he is on the field, plays harder than anyone else out there. AD does the same. Harvin blocks, gets off that block, gets knocked down, catches the play from behind, and blocks again. Watch any AD long run highlight and see who had the last block he passed. Usually Harvin. Notice I haven’t even talked about everything else he does?

Spoken like a man who hasn’t been paying attention. The NFC North had two playoff teams and almost boasted a third but the Bears got bit by the injury bug and couldn’t hold it together. A division doesn’t do that unless they are truly dominant.

Why in the world would Percy want Ponder to be his QB? I wouldn’t blame Percy one bit if he wanted out of Minny.

There were a handful of games last year where Ponder looked completely inept with the best RB in the league behind him. His noodle arm doesn’t help.

He had 3 games under 100 yards passing and 6 games under 200 yards passing this past season. For a QB with a RB that nearly broke the single season rushing record, those are downright pathetic numbers.

I can’t even imagine how bad this guy would be without AP in the backfield. Yikes.

Tough spot for the Vikings
Is he a top talent? Yes
Is he a pain in the ass ? Yes
Was he a pain in the ass in college? Yes
Did he produce at a high level in college? Yes
Has he physically threatened coaches in college and the pros? Yes
Is he tough as hell on the field? Yes
Is he a problem in the lockeroom? Only the team knows for sure
Regardless, if they do trade him a number one pick will not happen- with the new wage scale no one is going to give up a one for a guy looking to break the bank, with an attitude issue, and coming off an injury. Just isn’t gonna happen. Maybe a 2 but definitely not a 1

File this one under the “Duh!” category. The Vikings need to end this speculation and sign Harvin to a long-term deal.

Even if they were to get a first round draft pick for him, it’s not like this draft is that deep in WRs. Truth is, outside of the migranes, I don’t know what all the fuss is about. Harvin shows up on game day, and leaves it all on the field, and there’s not a team in this league that wouldn’t be better with him on their roster.

Yes. SOFT NFC NORTH. The only opponent the Vikings have in the NFC North who plays physical defense is Chicago and that defense is aging and falling apart. Detroit is trying to emulate the Packers, who have already cornered the market on Thong Football. Quick, undersized DB’s are the fad in a division where a 6’2″, purple-clad marble statue runs a 4.4 and isn’t going to try and run around you. Adding Percy Harvin, who shoots off the line like a cannon ball aimed at your chest, is just insult to injury. Heck, how many times did Sam Shields duck out of AP’s path this last season alone? The only physical DB’s in The Norse are Peanut Tillman and Charles Woodson. And the Packers just released Woodson.

All teams need to make risky decisions this time of year. Some pay off and some don’t. One thing for sure is that you need to be able to throw the ball in todays NFL. AP may be the best back in the game, but he alone isn’t going to win the NFC North. To out score GB & DET you need someone to catch the ball……..dah

This guy will be wearing Viking purple whether you want him to or not. Where would he go? Trades are rare anymore, and happen only if somebody gets a deal. Nobody is going to offer a kings ransom for a confirmed malcontent. Yes sir, he’s all yours. Good luck with that.

It’s been made abundantly clear that the Vikings, including the GM, HC, and QB all want Percy back. That’s never been the issue. The real question is, does Harvin want to remain a Minnesota Viking? He has been noticeably silent in regards to the matter at a time he could completely squash all the rumors by committing to attend training camp. The silence speaks volumes.

Bizarre training camp episode where he wanted a trade, then said everything is fine.

Noticeable blowup in the SEA game yelling at Frazier, presumably because of the quarterback play.

Reported face to face confrontation over rehab of ankle not going as planned, and subsequently being placed on IR (although some believe it is because of his behavior; all speculation)

We can’t even get a statement from Harvin’s agent on all this??!?!?! What the hell?

Harvin hasn’t said or done anything that would make me label him anything more than a diva… wow a WR in the NFL that is a diva… I’ll be damned.

Unbelievable talent, unbelievable heart, good, young roster that is on the upswing… pay the man and deal with some minor crap every now and again… the return on a trade will be far less value than actually having him on the roster for the next 7-8 years.

Ponder doesn’t quite grasp the irony that the reason Harvin wants out of Minnesota is because of the weak armed QB. Of course Ponder wants Harvin back, imagine if he had to win the game on his own talent?

Final year of his contract, options, pay him, trade him, or let him play out the contract and then franchise him the next year or let him go, go with the later two, whon’t be a GM long, franchise him and pay him the average, which is about 10.2 million, pay or trade him, sounds like he doesn’t want to stay, looks like one option left, now the question is where, Philly would be ideal spot with Jackson and Vick in that Kelly offense, WOW!!!

People need to lighten up on Ponder. This past season was his first full year as a QB. McNabb was a bust as a player and a mentor. The guy was essentially on his own. No he doesn’t have the strongest arm and isn’t the fastest runner. He also had zilch for receivers aside from PH and TE Rudolph.
Greg Childs blew out both knees in preseason and I don’t know if he’ll ever even play again. He was supposed to be a big down-field threat. The rest of the WRs were just ‘guys’ filling a roster spot and couldn’t get open if they were on a Harley.
Not every QB turns out to be an RGIII or Kaepernick. Some guys need more time.

I am literally just listening to a Ponder and PA podcast and he’s talking about Harvin in the past tense, as you point out. But he’s also talking about Adrian Peterson in the past tense, so I’m not sure we can conclude that he knows something we don’t.

It is possible that Ponder’s conversational style is to speak of past experiences in the past tense. Some grammar nazi’s will often refer to this is “how you ‘sposed to talk”.

Harvin was touted as an MVP candidate this year with Ponder as the QB. When Harvin got hurt, Ponder went into a big slump, but he got himself out of it and played well as the Vikings won their last four games. I think this whole thing has been blown way out of proportion.

If the Vikings want Ponder to have any chance they are going to need Percy. The guy was a beast when healthy.

Percy’s issues with the team was the ambiguity of his role and I think after this year it is clear what Percy’s role is, and that is everything because he is just that good. He’s one of the top returners in the league and so versatile he can run the ball better than a lot of the starting RBs out there.

The only thing that would prevent the Vikings from keeping Percy is the fact that you can’t afford to have the best RB and WR in the league on your team. And to clarify I consider him the best WR because of his versatility. He might not be a Calvin Johnson but you dont see Calvin returning kicks and rushing the ball in a fashion that makes Chris Johnson look slow.

Sounds to me as if Ponder does not want to be blamed for Harvin wanting out! Think back to when Favre was here, u never heard a peep from PH! Ponder is horrible. He had two plays that worked last year. Bubble screen to PH, and bootleg to Rudolph. Oh did anyone else see Rudolph’s skills when he had a real QB throwing to him in the pro bowl?? It’s no fun playing receiver when a noodle arm is at QB!

Man, you Vikings fans are so sad and pathetic. Isnt this the same guy who use to battle, and miss games with migraines until chilly got fired and then blammo, all gone? Granted, Percy is a hell of a player at WR, and you queens havent seen quality at that position since Carter/Moss but come on. You can’t hang on the snutz of one guy and build a championship team that always contends. Except AP, that dudes is amazing.

You have to wonder what happened behind the scenes with this guy, because you don’t let this kind of talent get away. The idea of trading Harvin should bring laughter to the Vikings, like if the packers considered trading one of their star guys like Cobb or Nelson. Normally, the idea would be just a joke. But it sounds like the players are now trying to convince the organization to keep Harvin, or just keep harvins trade value high, because the vikings are clearly shopping him.

You don’t get talent like Harvin in the draft easily. He is rare. But all signs point to him being gone.

The issues with Percy are overblown. Percy is a high-maintenance player on many levels, but the Vikings coaching staff is well-equipped to manage him, if Percy will follow their lead.

If Percy will get himself right with this coaching staff and this team, he will be an MVP in this league. He certainly has the talent and drive to succeed at that level, but he needs coaching to understand his role better, and to manage himself better to prevent injuries.

The Vikings are much more likely to give Percy Harvin a big pay-day this off-season than trade him. He is a good fit with this team. Percy Harvin will come to that conclusion too.

Percy is kind of an enigma–but one thing he does is give 100% 100% of the time. I would hate to see him go from a talent standpoint, but from reading this, it would appear Ponder has been talking to him and he wants to go. Bottom line, I guess the Vikings have a hard decision if he wants to go.

I understand Harvin’s talent, but Im just not a fan of paying a wide receiver when your quarterback is mediocre at best. Id much rather see the team invest elsewhere, hoping their QB situation improves.

Alright people please give Ponder a break. I know he played below average this year but its NOT all his fault. When you have the most vanilla OC in the history of the NFL who doesn’t call a play that calls Christian to throw more than 20 yards more than once every 4 games. When Musgrave has, Ponder mostly delivered especially at the end of the season. When he didn’t deliver it’s mostly because our NCAA level wr’s can’t get any separation or get open what soever. Maybe Ponder and Harvin have bad blood because ones a Seminole and ones a Gator who knows. Ponder finished the season great and was one of the main reason we won the last 4 games especially Houston and GB games.

bottom line is Vikings hold all the cards. he is under contract for 1 more year and they can franchise him the next year if they like. he has yet to prove he can stay healthy for a full season. Harvin can complain or hold out all he wants, and the more he does that the more he hurts himself with a big payday on his next contract as no one is going to want a selfish, injury prone, mal content especially for the coin he wants. he has zero leverage and the more he acts like a baby the more it will hurt his future contract

If the Vikings are serious about being contenders they have to be committed to putting the best players on the field. Can Percy be a pain in the butt? Yes, but aside from AP no player on the roster has the heart and talent to match his on field perfomance. Ponder will not make the wide receiver group better like Farve could, but Percy and some more quality receivers will make Ponder (or any quarterback) look better. If Ponder starts making better decisions the team can contend in a tough division. If Harvin leaves I believe Minnesota will regress from the progress made last season.

It would be foolish to trade him. He is no randy moss and it sure seems that way. Percy harvin is a fine player and don’t want to lose another outstanding receiver. Know why the cikes need receivers? Because we keep trading the good ones to other teams. Like for example Sydney rice.